


Brotherly Bonding and Late Night Guitar Lessons

by Accioscorp



Category: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Cursed Child compliant, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Compliant, James is the best older brother, James plays guitar, Potter brother feels, Potter brothers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:27:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25182490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Accioscorp/pseuds/Accioscorp
Summary: After yet another nightmare, Albus finds himself sitting in his brother's bedroom for the first time in a long time, a guitar in hand and James attempting to teach him.
Relationships: Albus Severus Potter & James Sirius Potter
Comments: 10
Kudos: 42





	Brotherly Bonding and Late Night Guitar Lessons

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to say a huge thank you to Ellie (@Scorpiusfriends) on twitter for this adorable prompt ! I hope I was able to do it justice ! 
> 
> Hope you all enjoy !!

The house was in darkness with only the glow of the moon making its way through the windows to illuminate it as Albus slowly made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen. He had once again been woken by another nightmare, his fourth that week. It had been the same as every other night, witnessing his classmate die, his best friend tortured and him not being able to do anything to stop it. He thought they’d fade or he’d just get used to it but every night he woke abruptly, his heart beating through his chest and his body clammy from sweat.

He poured himself a glass of water and sat at the island of the kitchen, taking small sips as he waited for his heart rate to return back to normal. He glanced up at the clock on the wall and with the little light the moon provided he could see it was just past 1am. It wasn’t really late but he knew his fellow family members would be asleep already. He really hated the nightmares but decided to keep them to himself. They’d go away eventually and there was no need to worry his parents or even Scorpius by mentioning them. They’d all been through a lot and maybe they were Albus’ way of coping with what happened. He’d be fine.

After he felt calm enough he filled the glass up again so he could bring it to his room and made his way back up the stairs, being careful not to make them creek and wake his parents and siblings up. He walked down towards his room which was at the end of the hall but stopped. He thought he was hearing things at first but as he got closer to the door of his brother James’ room he knew he wasn’t. He could hear music softly playing in James’ room which confused Albus as he thought James would be asleep already. Maybe he was and he had just left his music playing by accident.

Albus pressed his ear against the door as he tried to think of what the tune was he was hearing. He decided to take a sneak peak in and see if James had left the music playing or if he was still awake. He placed the glass down beside the wall and slowly pushed down the handle, opening the door just enough for him to look and peaked his head through the gap. His eyes met the eyes of his older brother who was sitting up in his bed with a guitar sat in his lap.

“A guitar?? Why does James have a guitar?” Albus thought as he closed the door.

Albus had no idea James played guitar. He had no idea music was even an interest of James. If he was being completely honest with himself, he really didn’t know that much about his brother. He knew he liked quidditch but everyone knew that. He also knew he was quite popular in school but again, everyone knew that. Albus really didn’t know his brother as well as he thought he did. He didn’t know any of James’ interests, he didn’t even know what James’ favourite colour was which was something he guessed siblings would know about each other. He was lost when it came to knowing the real James. It seemed like he only knew the James that everyone else at Hogwarts knew. He knew James Sirius Potter, the Gryffindor quidditch star not James Sirius Potter, his older brother

He was broken from his thoughts as James told him to come in. Albus pushed the door back open just slightly and squeezed in, closing it quietly behind him. James had laid the guitar down across his knees and patted the space on the bed beside him gesturing for Albus to join him. Albus made his way towards James, taking in the view of the room as he walked over.

Albus had only been in James' room maybe once in the past year, not like he’d been at home a lot to be in there. The walls were the signature Gryffindor red which were covered in various quidditch posters and banners James had collected during the years. Albus was pretty sure there was one from every team in the league. Some were quite old which Albus guessed they had been passed down to him by their parents. The desk in the corner was a mess of books and pieces of parchment that Albus guessed James had just abandoned after they returned from school. Over his bed was a string of fairy lights that gave the room a gold glow which worked very well with the scarlet red walls.

“He really is a true Gryffindor” Albus thought. It seemed like a real cosy room and not really what Albus expected from James, apart from the colours and many quidditch posters of course.

Albus plopped himself down on the bed, fidgeting with his hands and the cuffs of his sweatshirt as he waited for James to talk. Albus never started conversations with people, mainly because he didn’t know how to.

“So ….. what has you up at this hour?” James said, pushing a stray curl that had fallen onto his face back to where it belonged. Albus just shrugged his shoulders, not really wanting to tell James the real reason. He then replied with a quiet “I could ask you the same thing” which followed with James giving Albus a small shove.

“Couldn’t sleep I guess” Albus eventually replied hoping he wouldn’t have to eventually explain his nightmare to James.

“You sure that’s all?” James said, placing a hand on Albus’ shoulder.

Albus knew James could sense he was a little off. James seemed to always know, it was weird at times. James just seemed to know when Albus wasn’t himself and always made sure to check in with him but he would never push for an answer. Albus liked that, sometimes he’d rather keep things to himself. Albus didn’t reply at first which probably gave James his answer. He kept fiddling with the cuff of his sweatshirt, pulling a few loose threads out and dropping them on the floor as he wondered whether to just tell James the truth.

Eventually he whispered “Just a bad dream”, so quietly he wasn’t sure James would actually hear him.

It turned out James had heard him as he placed his arm around Albus’ shoulder, pulling him closer to him and for the first time in ….. a long time, Albus didn't pull away from.

“Wanna talk about it?” James said, looking down at Albus whose eyes were still firmly focused on the floor, not trusting himself not to shed a tear if he looked up as the memories of his nightmare drifted into his mind once again.

He shook his head in reply but hoped it may shake the memories from his mind as well. James nodded in response, accepting Albus would rather not have to speak his nightmare out loud. He didn't move his arm from around Albus’ shoulder as they sat in silence.

After a few minutes, Albus lifted his head from his gaze at the floor and drifted it to the guitar that was still lying across James’ lap. Albus noticed the guitar was quite well used as there were random stickers that had either started to fade or had already faded stuck across it and there were many scuff marks on the edges.

“I didn't know you played guitar?” Albus said, looking up at James.

A small smile appeared across James’ face as he glanced down at his lap.

“It’s not something many people know to be honest. I haven't really told anyone” James replied as he plucked at one of the strings which filled the silence of the room with a soft hum.

“You’re really good.” Albus then said before pausing for a second as James turned to face him.

He then continued by saying “well from what I could hear through the door” which caused both of them to smile and a quiet giggle to escape from James.

“I like your optimism Albus but I’m nowhere near good yet, give me like another six months and then tell me that again eh” James replied, nudging Albus lightly in his side which caused Albus to now giggle. Silence fell over the room for a bit before James picked up the guitar and started strumming some tune that Albus didn't recognise.

When James finished he turned once again to look at Albus before saying “You want a go?”.

Albus looked up at James, a look of confusion most definitely present across his face.

“James, I can't play guitar” Albus said wondering how James would even think he could play one with the lack of talent he possessed for, well anything. James handed Albus the guitar as he replied.

“I’ll teach you, here hold it”. The shape of the guitar felt weird in Albus’ grasp and it took a lot of fidgeting around to get it to a comfortable position.

Once Albus had finally figured out to hold the guitar and had it placed comfortably, he looked at James for further instructions as he had no idea what he was doing. James leaned over, taking Albus’ right hand in his and placed his fingers over the various strings.

One he was satisfied, he leaned back and spoke saying “Ok now strum the strings using this”.

He picked up a baby blue pick from his nightstand and handed it to Albus. Albus held the pick between his fingers, careful not to move his other ones that were firmly placed on the strings higher up and strummed like James told him. He was actually quite shocked that the sound that came from the guitar actually sounded alright.

James smiled at him before saying “There you go ! That’s the G chord”.

James then went on to moving Albus’ fingers once again to different strings and into different sections which James told him were called Frets. They sat there for merlin knows how long as James went through all the various chords with Albus and explained how a lot of the songs he had learnt to play already were just continuations of the same few chords. Albus surprised himself by how quickly he picked it all up and how much he actually enjoyed it. He was also secretly loving getting to spend some quality brother time with James, but he kept that part to himself.

James then turned saying “You know that sound grand dad always has playing on that muggle radio of his” as he took the guitar from Albus.

He then continued saying “The one that goes _I fell into the burning ring of fire, I fell down down down into the deepest fire _”.__

Albus couldn't help but laugh as James sang the lyrics (quite badly if Albus was being completely honest) in the exact same accent as the original singer. He nodded his head as he watched James ready himself with the guitar.

“Well that was actually the first song I learnt to play on this thing. It was constantly playing over and over in my head after hearing it so many times at the burrow so I decided to try to learn it and it turns out it only has three chords”.

James started playing the song and Albus watched his fingers move between the different chords. He was quite proud of himself when he recognised what chords they were.

“G, C and D” Albus said, looking up at James who had the face of a proud mother after their kid says their first word or takes their first steps.

“A natural, if I do say so myself” James said as he gave Albus’ shoulder a squeeze. He handed the guitar back to Albus who found his comfortable position a lot easier this time.

“You have a go” James said as he signalled to the guitar. Albus must have made the “James are you serious” thoughts evident on his face.

James then went on to say “Cmon Al, G, C, D, four times each ! just keep repeating that, you’ll be able to do it”. Albus placed his fingers on what he hoped was the G chord, looking up at James who nodded to confirm he was right. He then started strumming, using the pick and the room filled with the melody of the song.

When he was finished, he handed the guitar back to James, trying to hide the smile that wanted to burst across his face. James placed the guitar on the stand beside his bed before turning to face Albus.

“The student has become the master, or well maybe the better than average student” James said which was followed by an oof as Albus playfully elbowed him in the ribs. Albus glanced at the alarm clock that was placed on James’ bedside table which indicated it was now nearing 2am. It was like the realisation of what time it was, triggered Albus’ tiredness as he started to yawn and his eyes fell heavy.

“I think I’m going to head back to bed” he said as he stood up facing James and he rubbed his tired eyes. James threw a nod and a smile his way as he himself started to climb under his covers. As Albus neared the door, the fear of another nightmare once again crept back into his mind. He stopped, his hand on the handle and shook his head once again hoping to shake the memories from his mind.

“Hey James” Albus said quietly, not turning to see if he had even heard him. As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted even opening it. He was 15 now, he couldn’t ask his brother if he could spend the night with him because he was scared. He wasn’t a baby anymore. He wasn’t that scared little kid anymore who would jump into his older brother's bed when he got scared or when he was worried about their dad when he was away for work or he tried to convince himself he wasn’t.

“It’s nothing” he said, his voice faltering at the end. He still didn’t make any effort to head back to his own room. It’s like his legs and mind knew better than to go back and most likely be awake again in another hour with another nightmare. Albus was very relieved when James spoke up, asking the question he so wanted to ask himself.

“You wanna spend the night here Al?” He said, sitting up in the bed.

Albus turned and could feel his cheeks tinting pink from the embarrassment he felt. He slowly nodded as James scooted over in the bed, making room for him and lifting the sheet signalling for him to jump in. Albus walked over and hopped into the bed. For a few minutes, neither brother said anything and Albus was sure James had already fallen asleep.

“Jamie?” Albus whispered, not wanting to wake James if he was asleep.

“Yeah Al” he croaked, as he turned to face Albus.

“Thank you for … Ehm … you know” Albus stumbled over his words but from the look on James’ face, he could see James knew exactly what he was thanking him for.

In typical James manner he replied with “next lesson will cost 10 galleons and will need to be paid for in advance” before he closed his eyes. Albus giggled to himself before mumbling a soft goodnight as he also closed his eyes.

“Goodnight buddy” James whispered before both boys fell asleep to be found by their parents earlier the next morning, a smile on both their faces as the memories of their boys from when they were younger flooded back and with hope that their relationship was finally on the mend.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading and I really hope you enjoyed !
> 
> I really enjoyed writing this ! I've been struggling with my writing and confidence lately so it was really nice to finish something. I'm a huge lover of the Potter brothers and their relationship and it was so nice to dive back onto that again !
> 
> As always, Kudos and Comments are most welcome, they truly mean the world !
> 
> Twitter/Tumblr - @accioscorp
> 
> Thanks again !


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